


Not a "Thing"

by TheWitchBoy



Series: Birdflash: Young Justice Universe [1]
Category: Teen Titans - All Media Types, Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: (maybe), (the very beginning of slow burn), Best Friends, Boys In Love, Emotions, Fluff, Idiots in Love, M/M, Oblivious Dick Grayson, Oblivious Wally West, Pre-Slash, Slow Burn, what is an emotion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-18
Updated: 2017-11-18
Packaged: 2019-02-03 19:11:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12754434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWitchBoy/pseuds/TheWitchBoy
Summary: They weren't a "thing." It wasn't like that and Wally seriously wondered why everyone thought it was like that.Like? No. Just no.





	Not a "Thing"

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place just after Team Formation in Season 01 in Young Justice. I'm going to say Post-S01E02 and Pre-S01E04 (after Conner's around, but before Drop Zone -- you can decide if it's before or after the confrontation with Mister Twister, because it's not overly relevant).
> 
> Note: Yeah, the opening line is something I reused from the "year old fic" I posted... yesterday I think? But hey, when I said "I want to reuse some themes," I kind of meant "next time I break out the Birdflash"/"tomorrow," haha.

They weren't a "thing." It wasn't like that and Wally seriously wondered why everyone thought it  _was_ like that.

Like? No. Just no.

They were best friends. They were best friends  _forever_. They were best friends forever  _whether they liked it or not_. Bros. And, contrary to popular belief, bros could be a bit touchy-feely.

For example, it wasn't Wally's fault that Rob couldn't, for the life of him, keep warm on movie night. But it would be Wally's fault if he enforced a "bro code" of three feet of personal space, or whatever, when he knew perfectly well that speedsters ran hot and small acrobats ran cold. A cuddle wasn't going to kill anyone. It also wasn't Wally's fault that Rob was a tactile person by nature.

Not that Wally minded. It just wasn't his fault.

So. They weren't a "thing." They didn't go around swapping spit or shacking up. Besides, Rob was basically still a kid? Um, hello? Wally had standards and, child model as Rob might as well be under the shades, Wally's standards were a few inches taller. And usually had boobs, no offense.

Usually.

I mean, he wasn't deluded. And he wasn't fooling himself. Wally had a bit of a bent in his otherwise straight-and-narrow sexuality. He liked the occasional Tall-Dark-and-Handsome. (No one was saying vampires, but okay, Wally could totally see how his aesthetics lined up with vampires, a bit.)

But usually: boobs. Wally liked a couple of curves on the objects of his admiration, and he didn't mean object in a dehumanizing way. People of his admiration? That did sound better, probably. Anyway, Rob had a bit of curve in that acrobatic waist, but nothing soft and feminine that Wally liked, honestly. And he had a nice shoulder-waist ratio, but still nothing tall and broad like Wally thought would make the ideal boyfriend.

So why. Why on this green earth?

Why was Wally having a hard time, on this millionth movie night in a string of movie nights, having trouble paying attention? If he was going to be distracted, it should have been by the pair of boobs that Ridley Scott had in his '82 classic. But no, Blade Runner was going on its merry way while Wally looked blankly at the screen and felt something suspiciously like anxiety rolling through his nervous system and landing in a belly flop in his jumbled stomach.

Rob was, like he'd been a million times before, curled into Wally's side, making himself small and compact. "Harrison Ford was hot," Rob said, snuggling in a bit closer. And, well, yeah. Sure he was. But "rugged" wasn't what Wally looked for, generally speaking.

"Yeah, sure," Wally said. He tried to focus on the movie. But instead of the movie, Wally realized that his attention was on every point of contact between him and best bro. The knee pressed into his thigh, the shoulders tucked under his arm, the head leaning against his collar bone, and the visible hand pressed lightly on his thigh. Not like that! Like, next to his knee.

" _Yeah. Sure_ ," Rob echoed. "What? Not hot enough for you?"

"Nah," Wally shrugged. Rob's other hand was grazing his ribs on the far side, just above the arm rest Wally was leaning on, and that because Rob's arm had wound all the way around Wally's back. Each point of contact felt super warm and super close and super electrically charged.

Wally tapped against the arm of the couch. He felt so watched, of a sudden. Not least because the couch back was to open space that filtered into the halls and-and kitchen. Suddenly, movie night at the base felt like such a bad idea. And since when was Wally  _worried_ about someone  _walking in_ , anyway? Uh, since never. It wasn't like anyone could tease him more about cuddling up with Rob on the couch. It happened all the time!

Except in the field. Obviously.

Wally cleared his throat a bit, swallowing up the nervous lump that had affixed itself to the walls of Wally's esophagus. "Not my style, ya know?" He tacked on. Belatedly.

Rob lifted his head and Wally struggled not to glance down at him. The lady with the boobs was on screen, getting dressed. Usually, that was time for a "god bless the director's cut" or whatever, but Wally wasn’t really seeing the screen or feeling up to his usual commentary. Which, okay, even Wally knew that was weird.

"You okay?" Rob asked.

"Yeah, totally. Good movie," Wally said. It all came out a bit faster than he intended it to, though. "Uh. Ezra Miller."

"What?"

Wally glanced at Rob, then back at the movie. "Ezra Miller. That's more my... like. Yeah. Not that into Harrison Ford.

"Cool."

Wally nodded. Maybe no one in Wally's immediate family knew Wally was bi, but he'd clued Robin in pretty soon after he'd figured it out, himself. Not least because he knew Rob wouldn't judge him. And partly because he knew they'd be able to talk boys, since Rob was pretty into boys and girls, both, himself.

There was a long moment of quiet, and Wally thought the conversation was over, which was all the better for his anxiety, which he wasn’t handling very well. But things weren't that easy with Bats, and Wally could feel Rob's brief side-eyes during the next few minutes.

Not really suddenly, but still kind of unexpectedly, Rob reached across Wally (pressing himself so much closer in the process, oh god oh god) and set his hand over Wally's. Wally glanced down too fast, a few fractions of a second before Rob's long, slender fingers had come to rest – which was definitely the speedster's equivalent of whipping his head around – and saw that his hand had been tapping the arm of the couch so fast that it was basically vibrating against the couch material.

"You can talk to me, Walls," Rob said.

Wally turned to him with eyes fractionally too wide. Robin's expression was very slowly turning from consternation to something a bit more worried, in the eye of a speedster. So, Wally changed the nuances of his expression into something more neutral. Rob's expression shifted between the beginnings of worry to frustration. "I know," Wally said. He grinned, tweaking the edge of his smile until it felt almost right. Then, of course, he rejoined the natural flow of time.

"Don't do that."

"What?" Wally dropped the smile.

"You know what."

"I really don't."

"Use your powers like that," Rob leaned back a little. On one hand, Wally suddenly felt like he was able to breathe a bit easier. On the other hand, there was almost a sense of loss and regret that increased with every millimeter of additional space Rob gave him. Rob only leaned back a few inches. Then, he jabbed Wally in the chest with his pointer finger, right in the center of his sternum. "Don't."

"I don't kn—"

"Don't. Use. Your. Power. Like. That," Rob punctuated each clearly-enunciated word with another jab to Wally's poor sternum. "I can feel the excess frictional energy coming off you when you do, and the soft blur of motion is really hard to miss up close, dude."

"Dude," Wally grabbed Rob's hand, to stop the abuse of his sternum.

"What's bothering you?"

"Nothing!" Wally said. He rolled his shoulders and glanced away from Rob. Then back. Then back away, again.

"Yeah. Sure. Nothing," Rob scowled behind his sunglasses and pulled back a bit more.

Wally felt suddenly very cold, especially when the arm around his back was pulled from its place. He glanced over at Rob and tried to be more frustrated than panicky. And what the hell? Panicky? Why? "Dude, are you  _mad_ at me?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Rob crossed his arms and turned on the couch, facing Wally instead of the TV.

"What?"

Rob raised an eyebrow above the rims of his glasses.

Wally blinked a few times. " _What_?" He couldn't even... comprehend what he could possibly be angry with Rob about. "What makes you think I'm mad at you?"

Rob shifted in discomfort and crossed his arms. His nose was wrinkled in consternation, but Wally only saw that for a moment before Rob's face was in shadows, thanks to him glancing down and toward the back of the couch, away from the TV.

"Dude, I'm not mad at you!" Wally turned a bit more to Rob, even though he was already pretty much facing the other armrest with how he'd been sitting. He reached out and put his hands on Rob's shoulders. "Dude!" And that was just lame. Couldn't he think of anything more comforting than "dude"?

"I don't know, Walls."

"You don't know? But I just told you!" Yep, okay, full-fledged panic in the house, then. "You're, like, my best friend! I'd totally tell you if you did something that... or... like. Dude!"

"Dude," Rob echoed, half-heartedly.

" _Dude_ ," Wally sighed and released Rob's shoulders, then flopped back against the arm-rest. "Can't we just watch the rest of the movie?" There was so much tension, all of a sudden, and it was a nightmare, geez.

"Is it because of the secret identity? Because I told you..."

"Dude," Wally said, in a different intonation. More exasperated, bordering on sarcastic. "I get it. I told you I got it. I'm not mad at you, and I don't need to see your baby blues to know you're my best friend, kay? God." Baby blues. He winced.  Wally would blame Jay for that one. Too old-timey to be a "Wally"-ism. "Eyes," he deadpanned.

Rob was quiet for a long moment more. There was an awkward shift from one teen, then the other. Then, Rob broke the silence. "So. You're not mad at me?"

"Oh my god," Wally huffed and threw his arms in the air. "Get over here and let's just finish the stupid movie. I seriously don't know why you think I'd be mad at you, okay?" He glared over at Rob, crossing his arms in petulance. "You are so high-maintenance."

"Excuse me?" Rob finally looked up, both eyebrows raised above his dark glasses and arms uncrossing as he leaned back a bit. " _I'm_ high-maintenance?"

"Uh, yeah."

"You literally ate everything in the cabinets, here. Yesterday. They were empty, dude."

"Dude." Wally blinked at him, letting himself fall a bit more limp against the arm rest. "They're not empty, anymore?" reverence painted his quiet tone a calm periwinkle colour. If reverence were a colour.

"No...?"

Wally whipped up from the couch, as if he'd just been given permission to escape. Half a second later, he was back with an armful of snacks (a gallon tub of neapolitan ice cream and two spoons, two bags of chips, a bag of Chicken Whizees, two bags of cheese puffs, a bag of pretzels, a box of Wheat Thins, crackers and a tray of cheese, and an apple). In the backroom, the microwave whirred to life.

Rob was rolling his eyes and sighing. Wally didn't need to see his eyes to know that. "Seriously?" Rob asked.

Wally held one of the spoons out to him.

That was it, apparently. Conversation over. Wally resolved not to think about what was "wrong" or why he couldn't tell Rob.

Though, that was the question, wasn't it? Wally and Rob had been friends for ages. Wally trusted Rob with his life, and, more tellingly, his secrets. They could tease each other to the ends of the earth, fight and makeup, cuddle into the far side of the couch (even around the Team), and otherwise make complete fools out of themselves! Why was Wally nervous of a sudden? And why did it have to make him feel so awkward?

Wally settled back into his place, bags of snacks strewn across the coffee table, and popped open the gallon of ice cream. Robin curled up into his side again with a shake of his head and took the first spoonful of ice cream. The strawberry, of course. A neapolitan tradition, with the Boy Wonder. Wally took a much bigger spoonful of ice cream, not least because he'd gotten himself a tablespoon sized spoon, in comparison to Rob's teaspoon-sized spoon.

The warmth was blooming, again, wherever Rob's body touched Wally's, but Wally was able to focus in on the ice cream and Harrison Ford's exploits as Deckard, instead of how anxious the proximity of his best friend was making him.

This was a problem.

**Author's Note:**

> YES! Another series!
> 
> Guys, I'm excited.
> 
> Why another series? Well, look: I love TimKon and I really like writing it, but Birdflash has literally gotten me through some tough times and is near and flippin' dear to my heart.
> 
> Also, I wanted an excuse to do my favourite themes, myself. These themes include "dumb boys are dumb" (no offense to fellow boys -- I'm a dumb boy who is dumb, too), "identity reveals," and "copious amounts of the words 'dude' and 'bro.'" And a few themes that drive me nuts, like "miscommunication" and "pining/being in denial." Woo! Let's hit all the bases and go for a home run!
> 
> Since this takes place just after Team Formation in Season 01 in Young Justice. So, this precedes the TimKon YJ AU, but happens in the same universe. Which means, yes, Birdflash is an in-AU canon over in the TimKon AU, too.
> 
>  
> 
> TL;DR - the TimKon YJ AU is NOT abandoned, because I'm having fun with that, still.
> 
> \--
> 
> Rambling ahead! Skip this if you don't want to deal with an overexcited, bouncing bag of glitter talking aboUT YOUNG JUSTICE SEASON 03 THINGS!
> 
> Not just YJ S03, though. Like. Ugh. So. Here's the story (it's a long one):
> 
> I forgot Mister Twister's name.
> 
> Look, I didn't like him, I didn't think he was important (except for foreshadowing and getting the Team to be a bit more cohesive), and I forget about him, all the time. The Reds are different because I Love Them and family units in superhero/supervillain capacities are Everything To Me.
> 
> Anyway, I had to look him up, which consisted of vaguely googling him (did not work) and then using the YJ Wiki to look up S01E03, Welcome to Happy Harbor. Found him, it was all good, and then I noticed a thing for the YJ comics in the banner on the top of the page and felt A Mighty Need.
> 
> I clicked the banner, but it just brought me to the front page of the wiki (sadface). But wait! In the margins was an article about the new costume designs for S03. Now, it's been a few months since I looked up S03 news (I look it up maybe once every 2.5 months -- or try to), and it was all "why the core team has new costume designs and what it has to do with Nightwing" and I'm just "did yoU SAY NIGHTWING" (lawl, I'm weak) and clicked.
> 
> The article didn't have a picture, though, so I googled YJ S03 costumes and BOOM first image in my face was like "HAAAY GURL" and I was like "HAAAY" back at it, because the faces were familiar and new alike. And first I was digging on the Imp-- ...(another sadface) the KF redesign and the Rob redesign. And then I was like. I was just "Holy Dark Knight, is that Static??" and of course it was, I know my boo.
> 
> Anyway, I freaked da eff out, and my bro was like "???" and I was just "StaTIC!! he's back omg" Which reminded me that I hadn't checked in on the "is DC out with a Static Shock DVD release yet?" question in awhile, either. So I checked that and, long story short, I blew threw 40$ because S01 and S02 of MY FAVOURITE CHILDHOOD SHOW EVER has finally been released on DVD! I'm dyin'. I'm DYIN.
> 
> After all this, I went back to the pictures, found the new stealth suit designs, mourned the missing insignias, asked myself "is that gonna be Mia Dearden?" and then realized that Spoiler was on scene now. It may disappoint ya'll to know this, but I got kinda sad about seeing Spoiler. I don't want to see any TimSteph in S03, tbh. Here's to, hopefully, that relationship having coming and gone in the S02 - S03 timeskip, I guess? XD
> 
> BUT MOSTLY! EXCITEMENT! I LIVE! And I'll have my two seasons of Static Shock in, like, two days! Radical, man. I am. I am so happy.
> 
> /end rambling.
> 
> Haha, if you got this far: love ya! Thanks!


End file.
